This reading was about the different things that happen in your muscles on the microscopic level when you stretch. For instance when you hold a stretch for awhile, your muscles will try to go against it at first, but after awhile they will relax and it will allow you to gain a larger range of flexibility over time. It also goes into some interesting details of how your muscles react when they are stretched.
"The total length of a stretched muscle is a result of the number of fibers stretched -- the more fibers stretched, the more length developed by muscle for a given stretch."
So when you repetitively stretch, over time more of your fibers will be stretched and will allow you to increase the length of your stretched muscle.
"Gradually, you can train your stretch receptors to allow greater lengthening of the muscles."
Just like how you can train yourself to respond to something with quick reflexes, you can train your muscles to do something quite similar.
"While this type of control provides the opportunity for the greatest gains in flexibility, it also provides the greatest risk of injury if used improperly."
My thoughts on this quote are, yes, if you push yourself too hard in doing something (in this case, trying to become more flexible) you do have the potential of injuring yourself badly.
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